What happens when you take the chicken out of the egg? Find out on this call with Vinita Choolani, CEO and founder of Float Foods, the Singapore-based foodtech company that just commercially launched this Earth Day the OnlyEg brand, Asia’s first, award-winning, plant-based whole egg (white + yolk) and the brand’s first product: OnlyEg Shreds. We talk about unlocking the unmatched ecosystem support in Singapore, what makes OnlyEg the “egg for all”, going global, and leadership at a fast-growing deep tech startup. 

Highlights and Timestamps

Incubating Asia’s First Plant-Based Whole Egg

1. (01:20) Paulo introduces Vinita; 
2. (02:00) Genesis of Float Foods; “That got me thinking that actually, why aren’t we doing more on that side of the equation, in terms of food nutrition, building our health, building our immunity, delivering better benefits from [food] from the health and wellbeing perspective.”
3. (04:39) 2020 Plant-Based Landscape in Singapore and Float Food’s opportunity; “But apart from Just Egg, there wasn’t really an alternative and it just was more on the scrambled egg, which I felt was very much [catered] to the Western kind of diet. But in Asia, we’re very used to our sunny side up…So that was really how I kind of segued into that Asian egg concept.”
4. (06:09) Leveraging Singapore’s unmatched resources; “I very quickly leveraged all these infrastructural support that we could get, whether funding or non-funding, whether it was expertise, whether it was R&D, whether it was infrastructure plug-and-play, on all fronts…it allowed us to really focus on product.”
5. (07:51) How Vinita met Yinglan; “…if you’re going to convince people from day one, we would say, “Okay, try it and tell us what you think.””
6. (08:58) What is it about OnlyEg?; “So the main thing is taste…And then the next very key important point after that was to focus on the nutritional profile…”

Elements of Scale: Commercialization, Supply Chains, Branding 

1. (10:03) Optimizing the experimentation process; “We’re trying to make sure that we get a very wide spectrum of responses and feedback and evaluation that can really help us to improve our formulations and things like that.”
2. (11:29) Biggest misconception about plant-based consumer adoption; “I do believe actually that in Singapore, the millennials are particularly ready more than those in the older generation. I do think however that price would be a very key component in their decision making.”
3. (12:34) The importance of reaching price parity for eggs; “For eggs, the perception is I can’t pay twice or even three times more, even though it’s healthier and it’s better for you, with no drugs, no antibiotics, no cholesterol…”
4. (13:22) Navigating global supply chain challenges to scale; “It is challenging for us to have to deal with, because the price of transport and supply has gone up on both sides, both equipment and basically distribution all have gone up.” 
5. (14:35) Branding OnlyEg as the “egg for all”; “The beauty of eggs, different from meats and all that is you have it 24/7…so [there’s] lots of opportunity in terms of penetration, acceptance, and adoption, and I think the branding has got to reflect that “egg for all” positioning.”

Bottomline for Deep Tech Talent and Leadership

1. (15:40) Teambuilding at Float Foods; “We filed patents, we won awards for our egg white, we’ve set up a pilot plant, we’ve opened up distribution, we have five SKUs on the way, and we put one out already into the market. So getting the right team with that right commitment and passion, and that can-do attitude is phenomenal.”
2. (17:10) Leadership learnings from scaling a biotech company to seven markets in two years; “So the team that I [formed] then, and even here, has the same DNA, right. Attitude is can-do [and] basically that’s the bottom line…”

Future of Plant-Based: Global Implications, Manufacturing Gaps, Profitability 

1. (18:00) OnlyEg white winning global awards; “Innovation is…really it’s about creativity, and the freedom to really push the boundaries. So if you think you can really push the boundary, which is what we thought we could do with our OnlyEg white, and we did, then why not submit it for the award because I don’t think there’s any other plant-based egg white that’s out there in the market that has hit that level of [nutrients and quality].”
2. (19:29) Rise of plug-and-play set-ups for foodtech startups; “The manufacturing gap is quite a big one because, startups like us, we don’t have easy access to [facilities] able to set up from scratch, [but] we’re in a position to let’s say plug-and-play, for example.”
3. (20:49) Thinking about profitability; “We want to put out a very good egg, the better egg, but not an expensive egg, because that’s not what we had set out to do. So every thing that we do, it’s guided by that principle.” 
4. (21:07) Profitability in foodtech; “We want to put out a very good egg, the better egg, but not an expensive egg, because that’s not what we had set out to do. So everything that we do, it’s guided by that principle.”
5. (22:48) Float Foods in the next five years; “In the next five years, we will be the only egg that has many formats, is versatile, and is an egg for everyone and every cuisine.”
6. (23:25) Rapid Fire Round; 

About our guest

Vinita Choolani is the Founder and CEO of Float Foods. She is also the Director of FINEX Holdings, a majority shareholder in INEX Innovate, a leading women’s healthcare company based in Singapore. Vinita helped build INEX Innovate from the ground up to become one of Asia’s leading women’s innovation healthcare companies. Vinita has had more than a decade experience and specializes in establishing distribution networks and commercialization for products across, not just Asia, but globally as well. Vinita is also the co-founder and board member of Project Smile, which is a not-for-profit initiative offering financial assistance to women in Singapore. 

Transcript

Incubating Asia’s First Plant-Based Whole Egg Alternative in Singapore

Paulo: What’s really interesting is the fact that from biotech, you went into foodtech and specifically, alternative proteins for eggs. So I wanted to dig a little bit into that and while it’s been well documented — if you google float foods, you’ll see a lot of articles and videos and interviews of Vinita — but for our listeners here on the show, maybe you can share a little bit about how you decided to start Float Foods in particular, I think it was around the initial impact of the pandemic in 2020, and what were the internal factors and external factors as well that made you decide to start the company?

Vinita: Actually, it was really about right time. I think I was already getting to a point when I was ready to leave INEX. I had built it up. It was doing really, really well, so [my plan was] to hire a whole bunch of C-suite and leave. 

Before that, while I was running it, I really thought that although we were very much concentrated on diagnostics. There was a lot of space for us to look at preventative health care, therapeutics and things like that. So that got me thinking that actually, why aren’t we doing more on that side of the equation, in terms of food nutrition, building our health, building our immunity, delivering better benefits from [food] from the health and wellbeing perspective.

I think the experience that I had at INEX was really the genesis for what was later to become Float Foods. Then when I was toying around with some ideas in early 2020, and then pandemic struck, then I realized, “Oh my god, we are so vulnerable. We cannot get eggs and dairy and cheese.” None of it was available. I mean, now it’s two years later and it seems like a distant memory.

Paulo: It’s been a long two years.

Vinita: But at that time, it was actually very palpable. You feel like you’re in a siege because you can’t have access to basic, everyday staples. And so that got me thinking and I said, “I’m a Singaporean. And I was born here. What can we do to change this?” 

So I looked initially at milk. I looked at cheese, and I then looked at eggs and I realized that actually, eggs was very hard to do. I’m not saying that cheese and milk are not hard. But I felt that it was quite challenging to do eggs. 

And I said, let me try and crack that, no pun intended, but let me try and crack that. So we then [developed] our prototypes, talked to industry experts, to academics, and to chefs. And the response that we got from them was extremely encouraging. And I think that really gave us the confidence to then move ahead and really do more. 

“That got me thinking that actually, why aren’t we doing more on that side of the equation, in terms of food nutrition, building our health, building our immunity, delivering better benefits from [food] from the health and wellbeing perspective.”

Paulo: We were just talking about how things have definitely changed since 2020, but definitely agree that it’s still very much a real problem, even until today, that needs some solving and you guys have been doing amazing work over the past two years, doing just that.

And it’s also interesting that what you have been doing INEX actually already was sort of leading you towards Float Foods already in a way. Maybe you can share with the listeners, what was the landscape like at that time for alternative proteins and food tech.

Vinita: Actually, you know, Just Egg had entered the market. Just Egg had been in the market, and there were some plant-based based meats, but not a lot. I think it was kind of like an awakening at that point for everybody, and it kind of shook us to the core and it was a little bit of an awakening and we were questioning our food choices.

We were questioning our lifestyle choices. I know for a fact that half of my friends threw away a lot of things and kind of de-cluttered their lives. So I think it was like a reset and rethink if you like. And so I looked around and I [saw] that there were a lot of plant-based milks entering the scene.

Oatly at that time was extremely hot, back in 2020, but cheese not so much. But apart from Just Egg, there wasn’t really an alternative and it just was more on the scrambled egg, which I felt was very much [catered] to the Western kind of diet. But in Asia, we’re very used to our sunny side up. We are used to having [that on] fried rice or nasi lemak and so on.

And I felt that that product wasn’t really suited to our culinary tastes, preference, and our culture, you know, so I thought, “Hey, there’s a gap here. Let me see what I can do in that area.” So that was really how I kind of segued into that Asian egg concept. 

“But apart from Just Egg, there wasn’t really an alternative and it just was more on the scrambled egg, which I felt was very much [catered] to the Western kind of diet. But in Asia, we’re very used to our sunny side up…So that was really how I kind of segued into that Asian egg concept.”

Paulo: It’s quite interesting because you mentioned that Just at that time was doing scrambled eggs and then you guys really saw that, unique to Southeast Asian cultures, which is very much the sunny side up, which actually, if you think about it, opens up several products, when you think about the white separately from the yolk as well, so it’s pretty interesting.

And I also wanted to touch on, I would say like huge factor as to why, it was a very palpable problem, as you mentioned was also because you’re in Singapore, you grew up in Singapore and Singapore is very much a trading hub and a center of a lot of commercial activity as well.

So maybe you can talk a little bit more about that and how that influenced the way that you view food and sustainability? 

Vinita: In Singapore, we’re very lucky. We’re very, very lucky. So I learned that when I was running my previous company before, we have an infrastructure that is unmatched. From the government side, we have EDB with ESG, and they have all sorts of incentives. From the research side, we have A-Star, right.

And we can also tap into academic institutions, from NUS to SUTD. So we have actually an amazing resource on our doorstep right here. And I think during INEX I realized, wow, I mean, this is a gold mine and we should be tapping into this to our advantage. So, what I learned from there also set the stage for when I set up Float Foods.

And I very quickly leveraged all these infrastructural support that we could get, whether funding or non-funding, whether it was expertise, whether it was R&D, whether it was infrastructure plug-and-play, moving into an all-ready lab, on all fronts. It was actually really, really easy and it allowed us to really focus on product.

And that was really quite something else. I can’t say this enough that we’re very, very lucky. The best place to start a business is in Singapore. 

“I very quickly leveraged all these infrastructural support that we could get, whether funding or non-funding, whether it was expertise, whether it was R&D, whether it was infrastructure plug-and-play, on all fronts…it allowed us to really focus on product.”

Paulo: I think the very fact that inherently there are a lot of constraints to starting a business in Singapore, you already have a support system that’s been developed over the years. And so, especially at this moment in time, for new businesses, the ease of doing business is a lot better nowadays. And speaking of support, I’m sure listeners would also love to know how you met Insignia and with Yinglan. Maybe you could tell us a little bit about that. 

Vinita: So I was actually inviting certain investors to a restaurant where we were serving up OnlyEg.

For me, I felt if you’re going to convince people from day one, we would say, “Okay, try it and tell us what you think.” And Yinglan tried it and he was quite blown away. And he said, “Vinita, I really liked this and I would love to support you.”

And I said sure. And in typical Yinglan fashion he gave us tremendous support. He sets up meetings, he’s working 24/7 as you know, so late night and early morning, He’s setting up meetings with bankers, with VCs, with F&B, with retail, and with all the different stakeholders that we would need.

So I’m really, really happy that, he’s decided to invest in us and that we’re part of Insignia’s portfolio because in the years that we’ve had enjoyed this journey together, we’ve really leveraged, whether it is members of staff that can help us on certain things, it could be something like a legal document or it could be something bigger like how do we, penetrate different markets. So on all levels, the help is quite tremendous. I’m really, really happy about that.

“…if you’re going to convince people from day one, we would say, “Okay, try it and tell us what you think.””

Paulo: Float Foods is definitely one of the really unique companies that we have in the Insignia family, for many different reasons. And obviously one of those is the very egg that Yinglan tasted that first time that he met you, and that actually segues into my next question, which is what is it about the egg, OnlyEg?

Vinita: So the main thing is taste. Without taste. I mean, you can’t sell and you really cannot convince, so taste is paramount. So taste, texture, and appearance. It’s got to look good, it’s got to smell good. It’s got to taste good. The texture has got to match that. I think that is the first point with the consumer so that they don’t have to make any sacrifice for their enjoyment. And that was really, really important for us.

So we worked really hard to try and get that checklist done first. And then the next very key important point after that was to focus on the nutritional profile, for the [consumer’s] health and wellbeing, and making sure that [the egg has] enough nutrients and proteins good fats and things like that.

Paulo: And you even have that patent — you applied for that patent, right, for the protein — 

Vinita: Yeah. So what we did was we worked very closely with A-Star, so they helped us to optimize [the protein content] even higher. Once we achieved that we actually submitted a patent for our egg white.

“So the main thing is taste…And then the next very key important point after that was to focus on the nutritional profile…”

Elements of Scale: Commercialization, Supply Chains, Branding

Paulo: So you have taste as well as the nutrition. Both of those things actually start in the lab and then you actually have to make sure it satisfies the consumers’ needs. So how do you sort of balance those two ends of the table? Because I understand with a lot of deeptech, regardless if it’s food or not, requires several steps and sometimes a lot of trial and error to get it right before you can actually even have that first taste test, for example. So maybe you can tell us how you optimize that, especially since you guys are a venture-backed startup and trying to scale as well?

Vinita: It is challenging. Make no mistake. it’s not easy. So we had numerous trials [where] there is a lot of tweaking. There [are] a lot of sensory evaluations. We work with polytechnics. We work with universities. We try to get objective feedback and give them blind taste tests. We do a lot of sensory evaluations with them to get as much feedback as possible.

Similarly with chefs, we send [samples] out to chefs. We get feedback from them, so we’re trying to make sure that we get a very wide spectrum of responses and feedback and evaluation that can really help us to improve our formulations and things like that. That’s important.

Paulo: It really helps to have that ecosystem of different partners, to cover all aspects 

Vinita: They’re very ready, to work with us and to collaborate with us. So again, coming back to that collaborative, “I’m happy to help you” culture, it’s amazing. What we have here it really makes it a lot difference.

“We’re trying to make sure that we get a very wide spectrum of responses and feedback and evaluation that can really help us to improve our formulations and things like that.”

Paulo: And you definitely have the momentum of, even society in general, where everybody wants a more sustainable world. And there’s a lot of incentive for people to pitch in, in this kind of environment. What misconceptions you think consumers have when it comes to commercializing say like OnlyEg, and bringing it to market? 

Vinita: From the consumer’s perspective, I feel that there’s a lot of global awareness about plant-based, particularly in the US and the UK markets. There’s very wide adoption there. I think Asia is catching up.

I do believe actually that in Singapore, the millennials are particularly ready more than those in the older generation. I do think however that price would be a very key component in their decision-making.

They’re very much aware of the climate crisis, the sustainability and the environmental issues, and they actually want to take ownership to try to help and do their part in terms of their conscious consumption. But I think price will be a big obstacle for them.

Currently, if you look at plant-based cheeses and milks, they started out very, very high, but they have come down, over the past year or so, but still not enough to achieve price parity with what’s currently available. So some ways to go yet, but it’s a good start. It’s a promising start.

“I do believe actually that in Singapore, the millennials are particularly ready more than those in the older generation. I do think however that price would be a very key component in their decision making.”

Paulo: What do you think are the biggest factors that will play into especially Float Food’s ability to actually reach price parity or optimize the prices, especially as you guys [scale]? Right now, you’ve just launched in Singapore, but obviously you want to go across Southeast Asia and globally as well. So what are the biggest factors? 

Vinita: We need to reach price parity with regular eggs because, we’re in a different position than meat because with meat already you have a preconception that you’re paying a premium, but for eggs, the perception is I can’t pay twice or even three times more, even though it’s healthier and it’s better for you, with no drugs, no antibiotics, no cholesterol, but still there is some resistance I think. 

So we need to really work very hard to bring that down so that it becomes mainstream adoption. So price will be the biggest barrier to mainstream adoption. The minute we hit that price point, then I think we’re going to be very good.

“For eggs, the perception is I can’t pay twice or even three times more, even though it’s healthier and it’s better for you, with no drugs, no antibiotics, no cholesterol…”

Paulo: How do you think about the current situation now in terms of supply chains and all of that uncertainty, as you try to this [scale this] product from a commercial perspective?

Vinita: It’s certainly challenging, because we are also being impacted with all these shipping issues with logistics and supply chain, but I think, once all of these current issues — there’s a war going on and people have been suffering from the back of COVID — when these things settle, I hope at some point then it will be a lot easier, but it is challenging for us to have to deal with that because the price of transport and supply has gone up on both sides, both equipment and basically distribution all have gone up. So we have to take that into consideration as well.

Paulo: Going back to that whole collaborative theme that we were talking about, it becomes even more important to have partners to work with cross-border as well.

Vinita: Totally. We’re very much for that. So we’re looking for partners in the US market and the UK market. if they have strategic infrastructure in place for distribution, we would love to reach out to them. We already speaking to some of them in the US and UK, but that is the way for us to go.

“It is challenging for us to have to deal with, because the price of transport and supply has gone up on both sides, both equipment and basically distribution all have gone up.”

Paulo: Really excited for that. In recent years, we’ve seen a lot more Singapore startups, not just deep tech or B2B startups, come out of Singapore and become global from their early days. So really excited for that trajectory for Float Foods as well.

Another aspect apart from the whole supply chain and also price and production and commercialization of the product itself is also the branding, which is going to be really important as you guys go-to-market and scale. So can you describe Float Foods’ approach to branding itself, especially as you already have a lot of global alternative protein companies out there?

Vinita: We need to break through the noise. Even our positioning has got to break through the noise, so we want to be the egg for all. We want to be the better egg. We want to be the egg that is for all diets, all cultures, all cuisines, all times of the day. 

So the beauty of eggs, again, different from meats and all that is you have it 24/7, for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. So [there’s] lots of opportunity in terms of penetration, acceptance, and adoption. And I think the branding has got to reflect that “egg for all” positioning. And that’s what we’re working hard to achieve right now.

“The beauty of eggs, different from meats and all that is you have it 24/7…so [there’s] lots of opportunity in terms of penetration, acceptance, and adoption, and I think the branding has got to reflect that “egg for all” positioning.”

Bottomline for Deep Tech Talent and Leadership

Paulo: You definitely want to be the [only] egg. 

Now I want to shift gears a little bit and talked about your leadership. it’s been recognized a lot in the media and, especially since you started this company as a solo founder and obviously you’ve put together a great team of folks to carry this forward, what is your approach to that, to being in that, founding team, especially those filling in leadership positions in Float Foods?

Vinita: Yeah. So I feel it’s very important [to have] teamwork because there’s no way I single-handedly could have achieved what we have achieved in the last year and a half. We filed patents, we won awards for our egg white, we’ve set up a pilot plant, we’ve opened up distribution, we have five SKUs on the way, and we put one out already into the market.

So getting the right team with that right commitment and passion, and that can-do attitude is phenomenal. And I’m really lucky that I have assembled such a team because having that attitude to begin with and to start with changes everything. It really changes everything. It just sets the whole tone for what we want to do, because a year and a half ago, what we wanted to do sounded quite crazy. 

But it can be done and we’re doing it and working hard, despite all the challenges we’re going to do it, we’re going to make it, we’re going to put it out. I’m lucky [with regards to that] and it’s important to find the right kind of talent with really that right attitude.

“We filed patents, we won awards for our egg white, we’ve set up a pilot plant, we’ve opened up distribution, we have five SKUs on the way, and we put one out already into the market. So getting the right team with that right commitment and passion, and that can-do attitude is phenomenal.”

Paulo: Definitely, especially in a space that hasn’t been quite defined, I guess, in this part of the world. And you’re opening new avenues in the market, redefining what people consider to be eggs, right? So it’s writing your own rules in a way, and you have to find people who are comfortable doing that from the get-go.

How has your experience at INEX actually being also a biotech company influenced the way that you lead Float Foods as well?

Vinita: So I’m quite an intuitive leader. When I talk to people, I get an immediate sense of what their priorities are, what their capabilities are, and to what level they can be stretched, to perform and to deliver, and [knock on] wood, I think I’ve been pretty good in that score.

And even in INEX and we were a very small team to begin with, obviously now it’s a very large team, but at that time we had a very small team and we had to open up seven markets in two years, which was — hop on a plane and go there, do the presentations, sell the product, come back, follow up.

So the team that I [formed] then, and even here, has the same DNA, right. Attitude is can-do [and] basically that’s the bottom line, the can-do and will-do 24/7.

“So the team that I [formed] then, and even here, has the same DNA, right. Attitude is can-do [and] basically that’s the bottom line…”

Future of Plant-Based: Global Implications, Manufacturing Gaps, Profitability

Paulo: While I’m sure that Float Foods definitely is a whole new beast in terms of what you have to tackle and the challenges out there, it’s great to have had that very parallel experience having to grow that fast in two years.

And you mentioned earlier that you guys have won awards globally recently in the World FoodBev awards, especially for the OnlyEg white product that you have. What do you think the rest of the world can learn from what’s happening with food tech in Singapore, and perhaps even Float Foods?

Vinita: I think it’s really about innovation. Innovation is a word I think that’s been bandied about, and it means many things to many people, but really it’s about creativity, and the freedom to really push the boundaries. 

So if you think you can really push the boundary, which is what we thought we could do with our OnlyEg white, and we did, then why not submit it for the award because I don’t think there’s any other plant-based egg white that’s out there in the market that has hit that level of [nutrients and quality]. 

So then we were confident that we’re the only ones in the world [and] we should submit an award for it because it’s going to help people have that egg white product. It’s going to give [them] that protein, then we want to make sure that it’s recognized, and all the hard work that we and all scientists have put into it is ultimately recognized. So that’s why we submitted the award.

“Innovation is…really it’s about creativity, and the freedom to really push the boundaries. So if you think you can really push the boundary, which is what we thought we could do with our OnlyEg white, and we did, then why not submit it for the award because I don’t think there’s any other plant-based egg white that’s out there in the market that has hit that level of [nutrients and quality].”

Paulo: It just goes back to that whole theme that we’ve been going back to, throughout our whole conversation, of having the ecosystem and finding the right people to collaborate and work together unlocks the freedom to be able to push the boundaries and actually innovate.

What do you think is currently the biggest gap in terms of Asia’s food tech innovation at the moment, and what role will those foods play in closing that gap?

Vinita: So I think the manufacturing gap is quite a big one because, startups like us, we don’t have easy access to [facilities] able to set up from scratch, [but] we’re in a position to let’s say plug-and-play, for example. 

[But] access to ready manufacturing companies for plug-and-play is a bit limited, because the plant-based movement is quite different from the traditional manufacturing and traditional manufacturing in Singapore. At least from what we’ve experienced, it’s done in a particular way. So I think to try and switch it to a very different mindset is a little bit of a challenge.

So then the onus is back to us to set up our own facility, and with that comes costs and manpower; [there are a] different set of issues that come along with it. So it’s great because I know recently there has been a couple of plug-and-play set-ups that have opened up in Singapore.

We’ve gone to speak to them. So you walk in and they have 10 different kinds of equipment ready to rock and roll. So the question is for us to figure out how do we use this and how do we use that and how to do upstream and downstream and match the two so that it’s seamless [and] so it’s starting to take shape?

There are a lot of companies setting up innovation centers, centers of excellence, and that’s been very recent, but a lot is happening. Even Just is opening up a plant here. A lot of movement recently in that area from when we started a year and a half ago. So I think in time, it’s going to be plug-and-play.

“The manufacturing gap is quite a big one because, startups like us, we don’t have easy access to [facilities] able to set up from scratch, [but] we’re in a position to let’s say plug-and-play, for example.”

Paulo: I find that really interesting. It’s sort of like a physical version of what we know is APIs, and that will definitely help with the margins. That will definitely help with the end price, which we talked about earlier. 

So how do you think about, profitability? I’m sure a lot of our finance-minded folks listening in on the show have had that question this whole time about profitability as a food tech, especially since there’s a lot of investment that needs to be done [to scale the company].

Vinita: The fact is Singapore is expensive, but yet the quality, the reputation, the standards, is unmatched. So, you’ve got to have to pay a premium for quality, that’s [the bottomline]. So our challenge is to what extent will consumers pay for quality? And to what extent can we give them value for money? So that’s where really we need to find that sweet spot. But we are here to make money. 

Paulo: No such thing as a free lunch.

Vinita: We do have to do that. So we are working very hard because I’m very, very mindful of the fact that we do not want to put up an expensive egg. We want to put out a very good egg, the better egg, but not an expensive egg, because that’s not what we had set out to do. So every thing that we do, it’s guided by that principle. So if we have to make decisions, we will make the decision based on the fact that our consumer [should not] have to be spending tons of money on [buying] their eggs.

“We want to put out a very good egg, the better egg, but not an expensive egg, because that’s not what we had set out to do. So everything that we do, it’s guided by that principle.”

Paulo: It’s definitely not an easy task but I’m sure since you’ve been in the business for, quite some time, really excited to see how you tackle this challenge and roll it out, globally. Speaking of which, how do you see Float Foods in the next five years? How do you envision the company and the OnlyEg product as well?

Vinita: In the next five years, we will be the only egg that has many formats, is versatile, and is an egg for everyone and every cuisine. We will be able to give you to eggs for your sandwiches, for your noodles, for your rice, for your ramen, for baking, for your cakes and so on. So we’re planning to do all of that in the next five years, and I’m pretty sure we’re going to set it up successfully.

“In the next five years, we will be the only egg that has many formats, is versatile, and is an egg for everyone and every cuisine.”

Rapid Fire Round

What are the top 3 traits a startup CEO should not have? 

Vinita: Passion, tenacity and kindness.

What digital technology/innovation or sector (apart from the tech you are working on) excites you the most today? 

Vinita: NFTs

One line advice for people transitioning to starting a company mid-career? 

Vinita: Go for it.

What is one dish where you would love to see OnlyEg the most? 

Vinita: There’s so many. There’s nasi lemak, nasi goreng, fried rice and burritos. This is a funny story because [Float Foods] started out with me thinking cause I love fried rice, but in the course of all our work. We have put it in everything, in your curry rice, the local prata, egg prata, it’s gone into nasi lemak, gone into lots of sandwiches, club sandwiches and burgers, and honestly it tastes good in many different menus and selections. So I really don’t have a favorite right now. I started out with one, but now it’s several.

Most memorable day/moment at Float Foods thus far? 

Vinita: When we got our [first] investment, I think that was pretty phenomenal. When we cracked, our first sunny side up and everybody loved it. That was amazing. When we had Chef Lucas from the Hyatt [taste OnlyEg], we do have him on video saying “Amazing,  congratulations!” We have that as well, that [moment] was like, we were screaming and jumping for joy. So [there were] many amazing milestones, actually many. 

Favorite activity to de-stress?

Vinita: To have a nice massage.